Entrepreneurial resilience during challenging times

How do business leaders and aspiring entrepreneurs bounce back from uncertainty and start businesses under challenging circumstances? Until recently, little has been known about what drives entrepreneurial decisions during challenging times. Our new research shows that specific personal factors matter greatly for the pursuit of entrepreneurship, especially during periods of adversity. Based on survey data from more than 500 entrepreneurs in the United States and abroad to answer this question, we find that entrepreneurial self-efficacy—defined as a belief in one's ability to be an entrepreneur—and resilience are particularly important. In order to build self-efficacy and resilience, entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs need to (1) engage in business development training to build their belief in their entrepreneurial ability (i.e., entrepreneurial self-efficacy); (2) seek out networking events, special lectures, and mentoring opportunities to learn by modeling others who have been resilient through challenging times; and (3) be active in their entrepreneurial pursuits, practice business acumen, and seek feedback from those who can be objective, critical, and encouraging.